Why Become a Certified Technical Trainer (CTT+)?

If you are anything like me, once you finished school you said you were never going back. That was the end of the conversation.  If you are even more eerily similar, then you left school to work for an education company, but I digress.

The main point I’m trying to make here is that I am not someone who enjoys sitting in a class and studying for a test. I really do not enjoy standing in front of a room of people making sure they sit in a class and study for a test. That is not the person I am, but I still took the CompTIA Certified Technical Trainer (CTT+) course. I can honestly say it was a good move and it made me better at my non-educator role in an education company.

Keep reading to see if my personal experience offers perspective on how your career and life goals might be propelled with CTT+ training.

I Have a Tech Background and Now I Think I Want to Teach…

You, my friend, are probably the first person CompTIA thought of when they created this certification. However, if you think the course will be even a little bit tech driven, you are wrong.

Many technology professionals sit through a ton of training and certification classes and it probably gets to a point where you think:

‘If this guy can do it, I totally can because I actually do this work every day.’

You could very well teach the material, but connecting with the students to make sure they retain the info is the real mission of the CTT+. Your tech knowledge will not come in handy for this course or this exam. Leave your server room jargon at the door and bring out those people skills.

That was a quick disclaimer, as it is important for anyone looking to make the transition from full-time tech to full-time educator to understand. However, if you already have the tech knowledge, you would be positioning your skills towards a very lucrative future if you add the CTT+ to the resume. Check out these tweets for a “technical trainer” search:

Tweets about technical trainer

There are about two tweets every hour and the majority are for available jobs! Even more so, the CTT+ certification allows you to teach any course with a technical training manual. One 3-day CTT+ class can open up a world of opportunity for you.

I Really Have No Desire to be a Trainer, Is CTT+ Even Worth It?

If your job involves even a little bit of human interaction, then I would still say this class is worth it. I manage projects, teams and constantly need to communicate with other human beings either in-person or online. At its core, the CTT+ course teaches communication.

Stephen Covey coined the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The 5th habit is to seek first to understand, then to be understood. That is what this training accomplishes. You learn how to quickly evaluate a group’s learning style in order to efficiently present an idea and then move everyone along the path towards accomplishing a common goal. From a trainer’s perspective, this could mean having everyone pass the exam. From a manager’s perspective, this means hitting the month’s revenue numbers; either way you are responsible for getting your group to achieve that goal.

The communication aspect of the CTT+ course helped me become a better manager. It helped me understand the learning styles of my team and how to help them understand new concepts while coaching them toward forming their own opinions.

I’m Not a Manager or Teacher, is it Worth It?

I see value in the CTT+ even if your career does not require a leadership role. Just because you’re not there now, you still need to communicate results and ideas to your boss. If you can clearly communicate and speak with confidence, you will up your chances for promotion. The CTT+ course puts your public speaking skills to the test and you will definitely see improvement in confidence and the effectiveness of your speech.

Did You Find the CTT+ Valuable?

If you found the CompTIA Certified Technical Trainer course and exam to be a valuable asset to your career and resume, please let me know in the comments below or tweet at me @Ash_Wheeler.